The invention relates, in general, to clinical patient tables or support systems, and more particularly to a patient examination support system having a longitudinally displaceable tabletop which is supported on a support structure, with an examination region spaced apart longitudinally of the tabletop from the support structure.
A patient examination support system of this kind, particularly for a magnetic resonance imaging system or a computed tomography system, is known for instance from German Patent Disclosure DE 101 03 331 A1.
The patient examination support system known from DE 101 03 331 A1 is intended for an imaging medical examination system, in which a tabletop intended for supporting the patient is braced both on a supporting lifting structure and on an additional support pillar. The examination region in which a scanning process takes place is located between these supporting devices, in an unsupported region of the tabletop. However, bracing the tabletop in two places may not prevent sagging of the tabletop during an advancement motion while the tabletop has not yet reached the additional support pillar on a side opposite the lifting structure of the examination system.